Electric-railway system.



No. 656,276. v Patented A ug. 2|, I900. L. E. WALKINS.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY SYSTEM. (Application filed Dec. 15, 1898.) (N0 Model.) 2 Sheets-She8t l.

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QMMW W N0. 656,276. Patented Aug. 2|, I900.

- E. WALKINS.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY SYSTEM.

(Application filed Dec. 15, 1898.) (No Model.) 6 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Jib/77g UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS E. XVALKINS, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELECTRIC-RAILWAY SYSTEM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 656,276, dated August 21, 1900.

Q g Application filed December 15, 11898 Serial No. '699,401. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS E. WALKINS, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric-Railway Systems, of which, thefollowing is a full, clear, and exa'ctdescriptio'n. This invention relates to improvements in electric-railway systems of the third-rail sectional-conductor class, the object: being to provide simple and operative devices for'automatically cutting in and cutting out the current from the third-rail blocks or sections as the car having the electric motor thereon passes thereover. I The invention consists in the combination or arrangement of parts and in the construction of certain of the parts, all substantially. as will hereinafter fully appear, and be .set forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a plan view of the electric railway arranged in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view and elevation of parts in detail, to be hereinafter referred to. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view, on a larger scale, as taken substantially on the line 3 3, Fig. 1, showing'the action of'a broad-tread car-wheel for downwardly moving a depressible member of the device adjacent the track-rail. Line 2 2 on Fig. 3 indicates the plane on which the parts in section in Fig. 2 are drawn. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the relations of the parts before the depressible member is forced down.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all of the views.

In the drawings, A A represent the usual track-rails of a railway, outside of, near, and parallel with one of which are the series of third-rail sections or blocks B B, the length of each of which may be as'desired-for instance, an eighth or a quarter of a mile.

0 represents the dynamo, understood as located in a power-station and having connected therewith the wire a, which is also connected' with the feed or line wire D for the system, and with the continuous returndevices as follows: G represents an electromagnet understood as wound with heavy wire, with each of which a branch orsub wire f from the feed-wire is connected. 9 represents a lever intermediately pivoted at 10' below the electromagnet, one arm thereof being constructed to constitute, or being providedwith, an armature h to coact with and to be drawn to. the .electromagnet when the latter. is vitalized and to be held thereagainst while it remains vitalized. Said armaturecarrying extremity of the lever is provided with the counterpoise-weight 12. The opposite member 13 of the l'everg is by the link 14 connected with the depressible and verticallyuided part H, having its position very close to the side of the car-wheel rail Aand normally standing above the top or tread of such rail. The upper edge of this depression member is crowning or rounded, as shown in Fig. 2. The lever is provided with the upwardly-extending switch-arm i, projecting radially from the pivot 10 and adapted to be moved onto and out from contact .w ithjthe metallic contactpiecej, having a fixed support adjacent the said arm' 1), and from this contact j an electric wire m connects with thethird-rail section B, corresponding to the device comprising the contact j and the switch-arms, in conj unction with the electromagnet and lever. -An electric wire '11 is connected with the coil of electromagnet at the opposite end thereof from that at which the wire f is understood as having connection. These parts described are inclosed in a suitable cast-iron box or case J, one design of which is shown in Figs. 3 and 4, but which may be variable in size and form, still having fitness to purpose.

One of the car-wheels of the motor-car or .train run over this railway is to have a tread wider than the tread of the track-rail, so as to extend over and depress the aforesaid part H when such wheel comes to the location thereof. (See Fig. 3.)

A shoe or depending trolley L is understood as being carried by the electric car to run on the third-rail sections, the same having a conductor 0 extending therefrom to the car-motor M, while from the motor a suitable conductor (indicated at 11) connects with the carwheel axle.

In operation so soon as the wheel of the car reaches the third-rail section at which the devices described comprising the depressible member H are located such member H will be depressed, throwing the armature against the electromagnet G and placing the switch arm t' on the contactj, whereby the feed-current will pass from the feed-wire D through the electromagnet, conductor a, switch-arm i, and conductor m to the third-rail section next and corresponding to the said devices, giving the power-current into such third-rail section, to be taken up through the shoe to the motor and back through the track-rail and cross-conductor d to the continuous return-wire E, it being understood that these relations of the movable parts are retained so long as the motor-car remains on this given section, because while it so remains on the section there is a complete circuit, as stated, whichmaintains the electromagnet live holding the armature thereagainst and keeping the switch-arm i on the contact j; but so soon as the car passes off this section onto the next third-rail section, the one being understood as insulated from the other, the aforementioned conditions for the maintenance of the circuit are discontinued in the first-named third-rail section; but such conditions are next created for the succeeding third-rail section.

I claim for this apparatus simplicity of construction with corresponding cheapness, operativeness, and accessibility for repairs or replacement of parts.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an electric-railway system, the combination with the usual track-rails and a series of successive third-rail sections, and a continuous current-feed wire, of devices for each third-rail section each consisting of an electromagnet, a depressible member movably mounted adjacent the magnet and having its top normally above the tread of one of the track-rails, a lever adapted to be swung in conjunction with the movements of said depressiblc member and having an armature coacting with the electromagnet, a contactpiece, electrically connected with the thirdrail section, a switch member constituted by a member of said lever and adapted to make and break connection with said contact-piece, a conductor connecting the feed-wire with the coil of the electromagnet and a conductor also connecting the coil of the electromagnet with said switch member, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In an electric-railway system, the combination with the usual track-rails A A and a series of successive third-rail sections and a continuous current-feed wire, of devices for each third-rail section, each consisting of an electromagnet, a depressible member H movably mounted adjacent the magnet and having its top normally above the tread of one of the track-rails, an intermediately-pivoted lever, one arm of which is connected with said depressible member, the other arm extending adjacent the electromagnet and having an armature and a counterpoise-weight, the switch-arm 2' carried by said lever, and a stationary contactpiece j with which said switch-arm passes to and out of contact in conjunction with the movement of the lever, a wire connecting the elect-romaguet and said feed-wire, another wire connecting the electromagnet and the switch-arm and a wire connecting the contact-piecej and the thirdrail section, substantially as described.

3. An electric current switching and maintaining device, for electric-railway systems consisting of a vertically-guided normallyelevated depressible member, the intermediately-pivoted lever g linked to said depressible member, and having an arm thereof provided with an armature, an electromagnet with which said armature coacts, the switcharm 11 extending radially from the pivot of said lever, and movable with the latter, a wire connecting the electromagnet and said switcharm, the contact 11 adjacent the switch arm and the conductor m connected with said contact, substantially as described and shown.

LOUIS E. WALKINS.

WVitnesses:

WM. S. BELLoWs, M. A. CAMPBELL. 

